Crude oil prices rose strongly during trading today, Thursday, coinciding with the calming of market fears regarding global demand for crude oil, especially with optimism regarding easing the restrictions of the Corona closure in China, with the recent slowdown in the rate of virus infections.
The prices of oil and US crude contracts rose by 3.54% to record 116.17 dollars per barrel. At the same time, Brent crude contracts rose by 2.61% to record $117.29 a barrel.
Crude oil prices rose strongly during trading due to optimism regarding the strength of global demand for crude oil, coinciding with the easing of closure restrictions in the Chinese city of Shanghai, where hopes are boosted that the planned easing of pandemic restrictions in the Chinese city of Shanghai will improve demand for fuel.
China has announced the end of Corona restrictions in the city of Shanghai, and that the Chinese city is scheduled to exit the closure on the first of next June, as it is working carefully to ease the restrictions of the Corona virus, allowing more of its residents to leave and return more cars and vehicles to its crowded streets and the return of life to normal.
In addition, oil benefited from concerns regarding the lack of Russian oil production this year, especially following Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak expected today, Thursday, that the country’s oil production would decline to between 480 and 500 million tons this year from 524 million tons in 2021.
Also, the sources in OPEC +, who spoke that the bloc is expected to abide by the oil production agreement approved last year during its meeting on the second of June, with an increase in production targets in July by 432,000 barrels per day, strengthened the strength of oil in the markets.
Regarding other energy sources, apart from crude oil prices, gasoline contracts rose during today’s trading by 1.09% to record 3.8826 dollars per gallon. Meanwhile, natural gas contracts rose and recorded $9.323 per million thermal units. Heating oil contracts also rose by 2.42% and recorded regarding $3.9598.